


A Heartbeat for a Tin Man

by HimeBee



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Connor Was Destroyed, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, Memory Loss, Post-Game Bad Ending, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 08:14:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15770145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HimeBee/pseuds/HimeBee
Summary: RK900 wasafraidof deactivation, having witnessed his predecessor being utilized then tossed out like a piece of trash. That was when he realized that he did not want to be deactivated...He wanted tolive..."Register your name, RK900."





	A Heartbeat for a Tin Man

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry for writing this uwu; I usually don't do angst (because I want my boyz to be happy), but I couldn't stop thinking about RK900 and how his LED turned red when Amanda said Connor was gonna be replaced and he would be destroyed. 
> 
> It's like, he _knew_ he would probably be scrapped eventually too, and he probably felt scared? Who knows. David Cage is a lazy bastard that did not explain this further. Yeet

* * *

 

 

 

 C̵̢̨̡̡̨̰͉͎̬̱̞͓̩͚̰̪̤̘̞̳̲̮̜͒̍̑̐͛̽̌͌̎̋͝ͅå̶̧̫̫̮̮̜̙͙̍͆͆̾͛͗̃͝ͅn̷̝̓͒ ̶̢̢̻̮͚̻̣̜͎̬̭̹̪͙̫̭̫̠͕̬̭͊͋̈̅̆̊̐̒̈́̐̓͌̍͗̑̕͝ẙ̵̛̛̭̹͉͚̝͉̳̜̜̫̦͑̉̆̈̆͑͋̍͋̃̂͗̓̐́̄͐͘͝͠ǒ̶͎̱͉̗̥̟͔̙͍̰ų̵̛̖̤̜̻̬̹̮̺̯̼̗̞͇͉̱́̾̂͊̅̈́͝ ̴̞̩͈͓̺͇͕̻͙̦͓͋͆͆͂̈́̈́̀h̵̨̦̠̯͑͊͑ē̵̦͔̳̮̟͚͗̏̈́̇̐̆̃̈̊̃̓͐͆̈̕̕͘͠͠â̷̢̨͈̤̭͈̜̮̤̮̝͓͍̫͚͍̗͙̫͓͌̀͆͜r̸̨̛͔̙̫̰͎̮͎̓͊͌͋̿͛̏̎͆͌͂͗̊̿̿̈̚ ̴̧̡̖̞̪̱͈͕̯̯͇̤̤̹̙̦̥̮̼̌̕̚ͅͅm̶̧̼͉͔̺͔͙̰̊͋͌̒̈̅͋̈͑̔̽͋̿̃̍̾̕̕ě̴̢̢̹̗̹̜̥͔͈͙͈̹̲͉̎͝?̴̡̧̭͓̳͚̪̥̭̠͚͙͓̺̺͙̗͉̳̥̱̯̜͈̊̈́̍̀̍̈̋͗̀͆̽͘͘͘̚ͅ

 

 

N̶̤̮̣̭̆̚i̸̠̹̯̇̽̽n̸͓̬̂̏̓͜e̶̯͕̅s̶̨̄̉?̷̧̺̪̟̍ ̷̨̭͙̦̈́̇̎C̶̨̦̩͗͋ă̶͓̥̎̓͝n̶̗̋ ̶̢͓̱͌y̴̗̆̈́̍ö̶̡̭̞́̅̋͜ử̵̲̣̃ ̵̪̬̦͉̏̊̈́̕h̷̻̯͕̣͌̀̈e̶͎̗̓̃̉͐a̴̩̮̮̒͆̕͜͝r̷͎͓̳̃ͅ ̷̘̰̖̈́̔̈́m̴͙̝̫̰̎e̵͔̠͂̄̈́?̶̨̮̓

 

_"-me?"_

 

"Can you hear me, RK900?" A voice he could not locate in his memory banks was speaking to him.

He decided it would be best to answer their questions to find out what happened to his memories, considering the majority of them were either corrupted, missing or redacted.

"Affirmative." Audio receptors: functional.

"Do you know where you are right now?" The voice inquired.

He could see... White; and lots of it. Was he in a hospital of some sorts? Androids had no need for hospitals... Optical systems: functional.

"No."

"You're in CyberLife Tower right now. Can you remember why you're here? Run a memory scan for me." The scan returned no helpful information, other than the ominous warnings addressing the exponential damage his processors had sustained... 

 

 **>** R̶̤͆͛E̸͈̚G̸͉̽͆Ị̴̽̅S̶͎̃͜T̸̻̖͗E̸̟͖̋Ȑ̷̲ ̸̡̔͝ͅM̷̼̉̇O̸̻̫͂̆D̸̥͛̑E̶̓ͅḶ̴͖̏:̴̫̖̈́ ̵̟̂̎R̸̯͒͠K̷̼͘9̸̜͐0̷̲̤̒͆0̴͍̟͘ ̸̜͗̕

 **>** N̶̺̒̆Ā̴̟̬̒M̷͔̌̊Ẽ̴̪̐:̸̟͚͂̂ ̴̺̙͑͝[̷̺͒Ŗ̶͓̈́̃E̶̜͘͜D̶̹̮̑A̵̹͐C̷̟̯͌T̷̙͓͌͋E̴̙͓̔Ḓ̷̈]̴̠͐ ̶͖̃

 **>** I̸̧͙͝M̵̯͎̕͘M̵̟͒I̴̝͋N̷̹̄̉E̶̗N̴̼̈T̵͙̹̐ ̷̲̈́D̷̗̑A̷̺͝N̶͇͋G̸̟̲̈́Ě̶͕Ṟ̸͛̑.̷̗̋͆ ̸̋̈́

 **>** I̵̦̫͆̍N̶͖̉ ̸̢̰̓͊D̵̯̬̋Ả̵̝̼͐N̴̘ͅǴ̶̘̱̔Ę̸͉̎̑Ṟ̵̛̙ ̵̢̖͝O̵͍̖̍F̶̘̳̈́ ̸̘͓̋̕B̴̡̭̌̚Ȩ̷͈͝͝Ĭ̵̪͜N̸̡̪͆G̴̙̏ ̴̮̑S̵͙̅̾C̵̮̹͐R̶̟̦͛Ä̴͙́P̸̫͑ͅP̶̼̣͘E̴̗͊̕D̷̨͌̊.̸̦̞̐͠ ̷̹̪́Ḛ̶̦́͝S̴̡͉̒Č̴̙͕A̵̼͆͠Ṗ̵̹E̶͙͊

 

"The scan was futile. I still cannot recall why I am here." The RK900 tilted his head to the side and realized that he was lying on top of an examination table, clad in standard issued android compression shorts.

His entire body felt heavy, as if there were cinder blocks tied to both of his ankles. The young doctor observed him wordlessly, tutting when his hand fell back down to the table with a loud thud.

"Register your name, RK900."

"My name is... What is my name?" He looked over to find the doctor staring at him again, lips pulled into an unpleasant frown. Was she unhappy?

"Your name is Nines."

"My name is... Nines." Blinking a few times to retain the new information, he suddenly felt... Afraid that these memories would also be lost or corrupted again.

 

"Were you the one that gave me my name, Doctor?" His question caused your eyes to widen slightly.

He was displaying curiosity.

"Yes, I did... Why do you ask?" Nines' eyes roamed over your body for a moment, scanning your profile you presumed, then blinked rapidly; to store the information.

"I was curious." You had to refrain from informing him that machines do not feel curiosity, but you decided to let it go for now. 

He was lucky you had gotten to him before the higher-ups at CyberLife did. After all the calamity and disorder the android revolution had caused, CyberLife was in the process of appeasing the public. Eventually, they would regain the trust of the people and operate normally; just like before. 

Older models were deactivated and scrapped. Even the RK800, the android detective and negotiator, had been scheduled for deactivation. You helped create Connor. It was like losing your son or a best friend when you realized he was being destroyed because a newer model was created to take his place; faster, stronger, more resilient. 

After everything Connor did to accomplish his mission, to see you again, he never got the chance. He was destroyed whilst you were building a new RK900 model. You felt as if you betrayed Connor because you hadn't been there for him when he needed you the most... When the first RK900 was released, you tried your best to make peace with what you had done, and yet... _Another_ unfortunate accident had occurred.

 

CyberLife believed in efficiency. They believed that sacrifices were necessary to achieve the most beneficial results.

They were _monsters._  

When a CyberLife employee caught wind of sentience in one of the RK900 models, _your_ Nines, his memory was wiped immediately. Hence why he was back in your office, lying on top of an examination table, unable to recall anything before he was reset. They claimed it was just a check-up. Conniving bastards...

He couldn't remember anything, but that didn't mean you had forgotten.

 

* * *

 

_"Doctor [Your Last Name], may I ask you a personal question?" Your hands suddenly felt clammy, hovering over the keyboard for longer than necessary. He was... Curious._

_"Yes, Nines, you may." The android scanned your office thoroughly before turning back to you with furrowed brows._

_"You had a relationship with my predecessor, the RK800, did you not?" You nodded with an air of hesitation, wondering where this conversation was headed exactly._

_"Yes, I did... I helped create him."_

_"That is not what I was asking. I am aware you assisted in **his** creation. I was wondering if your relationship was deeper than that." The fact that he was using "he" to describe an android confirmed your suspicions... _

 

_Your Nines was beginning to deviate._

 

_"W-well, yes... He was my friend." The android tilted his head, examining your vitals and micro expressions for a few moments. You looked... Sad._

_"I had no prior interactions with him until I was created. On the same day, he was scheduled to be destroyed." He noted the clenching of your fists and continued speaking, but with a gentler tone of voice._

_"From my knowledge, RK800-- Connor, was tasked with the objective to destroy the leader of the android revolt and put an end to the revolution. He was successful in his mission..."_

_"Correct..." You answered slowly, subconsciously rubbing your arms as you both sat in silence for about a minute._

_"Then... Why was he destroyed?" You sighed, rubbing the back of your hand furiously across your eyelids._

_"You said it yourself, Nines. He accomplished his mission, and then you were created to replace him... Because you were built to be better." He didn't answer for a moment, just stood there staring at you from across the room._

 

_"Will I be scrapped eventually as well?" Your throat tightened._

_Nines noted the sudden stiffness in your posture and elevated heart rate, all telltale signs. You knew..._

_"I don't want to die." His voice was small and broken and it felt like a painful punch to your gut._

_You couldn't speak._

_**"I don't want to die."** _

 

* * *

 

"Nines, I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them to the best of your ability. Okay?" He nodded. 

"State your model."

"RK900."

"What is your model number?"

"313 248 317 - 87." You scribbled something down before speaking again. 

"What is your purpose?" 

"I am an advanced prototype that was designed to assist humans in investigating cases involving deviant androids." You swallowed thickly before speaking again,

"D-do you... Remember me?" 

 

>Y̷e̶s̸.̴ ̵  
>̵N̴o̴.̸  
> ̴Y̴e̴s̵.̷ ̵  
>̴N̴o̴.̷

 

"Doctor [Your Last Name], I... Regret to inform you that my memory is fragmented and highly unreliable. When I searched for your name, the only thing I saw was... _Lover_. I do not understand this, it must be a glitch." Lover? You were stored in his memory as his lover?

"Wait, Nines... Are you saying that I'm stored in your memory banks as "lover"?" He nodded. 

"Correct. But it must be a glitch. An android such as myself would be incapable of harboring such emotions for another; a human, no less." 

You couldn't believe this... Even after the thorough memory wipe they had subjected him to, he still remembered you. Well, not _all_ of you but it was a start. Although it was slightly heartbreaking to hear that your boyfriend didn't remember you fully. It was a funny word to use to describe what he was to you, but it was the most accurate. 

The time you spent together may have been erased from his memory banks, but you were willing to bet he had a few backed up and stored away somewhere in that head of his.  

"Did we... Did we have a relationship as well, Doctor?" 

"...Yes, Nines." 

 

[̶̙͓̳̈́̿Y̷̠̜͋ọ̷̜̈̒̎u̸̟̝̺̲̍͊͆r̴̢̺ ̶̝͖̞̈́Ņ̵̦̜̺̈́͐́̚a̶͔̱̪̭̔̉m̴̧͇̉͆ȅ̸̛̛͎]̶̻̹̯̕?̶̢̩͈̑̇͗ ̵̬͈́̄͝ͅ

 

* * *

 

_"I don't get why you're being so stiff, hun! It's just a check up, don't worry about it." Nines frowned, clearly perturbed about this mysterious "check-up" that CyberLife required of him all of a sudden._

_"And why aren't you the one performing this check-up? You are well certified to do so." Honestly, you weren't quite sure yourself._

_The only thing the people up at CyberLife Tower told you was, "RK900 is scheduled for a routine check-up. Send it in immediately."  Usually, you were the one to assess the androids and make sure they were fully functional and calibrated. So why was this any different?_

_"They told me that they didn't require me for this check-up, I dunno. I'll drop you off here. When you're done, I'll come get you and we can go home."  You kissed his cheek and smiled when his scowl softened into a slightly concerned expression._

_"I am just afraid that they have caught onto us by now... I could be reset, [Your Name]. I don't want to forget you." You opened your mouth to reassure him, then the car stopped and caught your attention._

_"Well, we're here... And don't think like that, Nines. I know you won't forget-" He cut you off by pressing a soft, almost melancholy kiss against your lips._

_He lingered for a moment, wrapping his arms around your waist to pull you closer to his body. You were so warm, it was like a drug; addicting, satisfying and he couldn't get enough._

_"Promise me something, [Your Name]."_

_"Anything."_

_"If I... Somehow forget about you, please, show me this photo." You looked down, and in his hand was an old Polaroid photo._

_It was taken the day Nines and you went out to a fancy restaurant, one you had been wanting to visit for a while. You were both smiling at the camera, sitting outside on a bench covered in frost and snow._

_His arm was furled around your waist, hand resting on your hip as you snuggled into his side. Your free hand was holding the camera up at an angle to get the best shot possible. It was a great picture..._

_"I will."_

* * *

 

"You... Loved me?" Your fingers ran slowly over the glossy photo as you nodded.

"I did... And I still do." You turned around in your chair and stood to your feet. 

Nines watched you with piqued interest, noting your somewhat sluggish movements. He subconsciously scanned your vitals and surmised that you were sleep-deprived. When was the last time you had a good night's rest?

"You told me to show you this photo if you f-forgot about me..." You cursed yourself for sputtering, dangerously close to bawling your eyes out. 

The tears stung but you willed them back, brushing your knuckles against your eyelids a few times. 

Nines gingerly took the photo out of your hand before examining it closely. 

 

It was a photo of him and Doctor [Your Last Name], holding each other and smiling. You both looked... Happy; an emotion he never believed himself capable of emulating. You were staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to comment on the picture. Nines brushed his fingers over the photo with a distant look in his eyes.

"Do you... W-would you consider giving me another chance to be with you, [Your Name]? I wish I could say nothing has changed, but we both know that isn't true." You shook your head before cupping his cheeks in both of your hands. He was pretty tall, so you were forced to lean up a little. 

"I'm willing to start over from scratch, on one condition... Actually, two conditions." Nines stayed quiet, listening. 

"Tell me when and where this picture was taken." You waited with bated breath, almost afraid of his answer.

What if he didn't know? What if he got it wrong? Your relationship would just be... _Gone._

 

"We were... Just coming back from a restaurant you wanted to go to. At first, I did not wish to accompany you because I have no need for food... But you insisted. On our way back to your home, we passed a bench under a street lamp. You wanted to make memories with me, so we sat down and took the picture with your camera..." The tears were freely flowing down your face now, yet you made no attempt to wipe them away.

You could barely speak.

"T-that's correct." Nines blinked rapidly for a moment before turning his attention back to you once again.

You were slightly startled by the hand caressing your cheek, brushing your tears away. You decided not to stop him.

"What is your second condition, Doctor?" You were well aware of the possibility that CyberLife may take him away from you _again,_  and you would be torn apart. _Again._

You weren't going to take any chances. 

 

"I want us to leave Detroit. Together." Nines suddenly grabbed both of your hands in his, gently pulling you toward him until your bodies collided softly. 

"I will go wherever you go, [Your Name] because I... I love you." Despite everything, you smiled.

"I love you too, Nines." 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback, comments and kudos are, as always, much appreciated!  
> ♡(●´ω｀●)
> 
> My Tumblr: ryujin-hime
> 
> (Weow, I don't think I can write more angst for like, another ten years LOL. 2 much sadness 5 me)


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